So how is it different from last year's Pixel 7a?

I'll show you right now.

The biggest differences come down to the display, the design, and of course, the processor.

The Pixel 8a runs on Google's Tensor G3 chip, which is the same processor that powers the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.

Google also said it made the screen brighter this year compared to the Pixel 7a, which is a welcome change because I found the display to be a little bit too dim on last year's phone.

And then of course, there are some design changes as well.

The Pixel 8a, since it's part of the Pixel 8 family, looks a lot more like the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.

You'll notice when looking at the 7a and the 8a next to each other that the corners are much softer than they are on the 7a, and there's also a matte finish on the back that more closely matches the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro.

I personally really like this.

I think it makes the phone feel a little bit more premium and polished and just gives it a bit of a boost when it comes to build quality compared to the glossy back on the Pixel 7a.

But one thing that hasn't changed is the camera.

Google is using the same camera sensor on the Pixel 8a that it used for the Pixel 7a last year.

But what really stood out to me is that Google is bringing some of its AI features from the Pixel 8 to the Pixel 8a.

And for some of these features, it is the first time we're seeing them on an A-series phone.

One of those features is called Best Take.

So if you're taking a bunch of group images, maybe there's one shot where your eyes are closed and then there's another shot where you look great, but maybe your friend is looking off camera.

The idea behind this feature is that Google uses AI to combine those images to create one image where everybody is actually looking at the camera.

And you can actually choose which face you want for each person in the image.

I tried this out a few times, and of course, this isn't an entirely new feature.

It's been on the Pixel 8, so we've had plenty of time to play around with it, but you'll notice that you can hold down on someone's face and see the different options that you can swap in and out.

And then there's also Audio Magic Eraser, which is coming to the Pixel 8a, which is a feature that cleans up audio on videos.

So if you're taking a video and there's some distracting sounds in the background,

Audio Magic Eraser can detect that and make it disappear.

The Pixel 8a will also support Google's Gemini Nano model, which also runs on the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, and this will be available as a developer option in a future update.

So what really stands out to me about this is the fact that Google isn't really just saving these AI features for its premium phones.

It's not using these features as an excuse to try to get you to buy the more expensive model.

It's even bringing it to its cheaper phones.

And that kind of tells us about Google's vision for AI on phones.

It wants it to be part of the core experience rather than something that's just a niche for a subset of users, like those who might go for the Pro model.

So I do think that's really interesting, and it kind of reminds me of Samsung's approach as well.

Samsung initially launched Galaxy AI, which is its own set of AI features back in January, but then it later expanded that to older Galaxy models as well.

Otherwise, there are some other changes that you'll wanna take note of.

One of the biggest being that the Pixel 8a will support seven years of software updates, so it shouldn't feel out of date anytime soon.

That, again, also follows Google's approach with the Pixel 8 series, but again, it's really nice to see this trickle down to the cheaper model as well.

So that's what stood out to me so far about the Pixel 8a.

I'll have much more to say about it once I've had time to actually spend more time with it and test it.

In the meantime, you could check out the full story on cnet.com for more details.

Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time.